Exam Study Strategies that REALLY Work!

1
Exam Study Strategies that REALLY Work!

• A Student Services Workshop

2
Why Can Studying for Exams Be Such A Challenging
Task?

• It can be overwhelming to study weeks/months
  worth of material for one test
• Sometimes we are exhausted by the end of the
  semester
• The exam can be worth a fairly high percentage of
  our final mark in the course
• We often have 1-3 other exams we also need to be
  studying forwhere do we find the time?
• We dont teach students how to study, we assume
  they know how best to do this, for every
  individual subject area

3
How Do Students Make Exam Studying An Even MORE
Stressful Experience?

• They have unorganized and/or incomplete notes
  from the course
• They have not been asking questions along the way
  to ensure understanding
• They dont budget their time wisely or start
  studying far enough ahead of time
• They dont consider ways to make the most of
  their studying time
• They dont recognize the time and effort that
  will be required to be adequately prepared for
  the exam
• They dont adjust other priorities during exam
  time to make the exams their primary focus

4
The Keys to Effective Studying

• Effective study skills must be practiced in order
  to improve
• Its not enough to think about studying you
  actually have to do it and then reflect on what
  you could be doing better

5
General Exam Study TipsTested and True!

• Begin studying no less than 30-60 minutes after a
  meal
• Never study within 30 minutes of going to sleep
• Prioritize! Make a list of what you intend to
  study and prioritize the list
• Study no more than 45-60 minutes at a stretch,
  and then take breaks
• Take breaks away from your desk and do something
  different
• Try to continue your daily habits as usual (dont
  drastically reduce your sleep, eliminate
  exercise, or overeat)

6
Creating the Right Environment for Studying

• When deciding where you should do your exam
  studying consider the following
• Make sure the environment is moderately
  comfortable (furniture, temperature)
• Work somewhere where you will be free of
  distractions (phone, TV, MSN etc.)
• Try to use a space that is YOURS only and doesnt
  have to be shared with other family members
• Keep the study space organized with a specific
  place for paper, pens, books etc.
• Have everything you need to study with you before
  you sit down so you dont waste time looking for
  things

7
The Value of a Study Schedule

• It will not be possible to allocate your time
  effectively if you dont have a schedule to keep
  you focused and realistic about what you need to
  accomplish
• The time taken to create the schedule is well
  worth it it will save you much time that could
  have been lost to disorganization, stress, and
  poor planning

8
The Keys to Effective Exam Study Scheduling

• Obtain an exam outline for each of your courses
  including what material will be covered, the
  length of, and format of the exam
• Complete all of the preparation that will be
  required for you to study effectively BEFORE you
  sit down and actually study (i.e. complete
  missing homework, correct tests, organize notes
  in order etc.)
• Realistically plan for the amount of time that
  you think will be required to review the material
  for the course at least twiceand then double
  that amount of time
• Decide which previous commitments will need to go
  on hold while you are studying (i.e. reducing
  shifts at work, no baby-sitting etc.)

9
The Keys continued

• Make every hour count in your schedule time at
  lunch, before school, after school
• Begin to study for each exam AT least a week
  before it will take place to have plenty of time
  to ask questions, review etc.
• Give yourself reasonable breaks (15-30 min) and
  try to maintain as normal a schedule as
  possible in terms of sleep time, eating time etc.

10
Proven Study Strategies

• SQ3R
• Survey get the best overall picture of what
  youre going to study before you do it
• Question ask questions to reinforce your own
  learning
• Read actively read over the material and be
  alert to main ideas, bolded terms, and key
  understandings and details
• Recite recalling and then orally or through
  writing communicating the information make
  connections
• Review re-reading, summarizing key points,
  testing yourself, asking final questions

11
Proven Study Strategies continued

• Getting Organized
• Putting time into organizing notes and other
  papers for the course
• Reading with Purpose
• Not glossing over reading material but actively
  searching for important ideas and thinking about
  them while you read
• Getting the Main Ideas
• Questioning yourself about the main points from
  the notes, assignments, or chapters you are
  reviewing
• Extracting Important Details
• Considering key information that support the main
  ideas, and thus, give them more meaning
• Taking Notes
• Bolding, underlining, and categorizing
  information that you are study to give it more
  meaning
• Outlining Textbooks/ Novels/ Supporting Materials
• Making notes on key main ideas, supporting
  details, and connections between concepts from
  print sources

12
Memorization Strategies

• Some material for your courses will simply
  require that you memorize the information. This
  comes easy to some people, but not all. Here are
  some strategies that you can try
• Acronym ie. PMAT for phases of mitosis
  (Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, Telophase)
• Acrostic i.e. Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally
  stands for the order of operations in math
  (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication,
  Division, Addition, Subtraction)

13
Memorization Strategies continued

• Rhyme Keys memorize key words that can be
  associated with numbers, example- bun one, two
  shoe, three tree etc. Then come up with
  visuals to remember a list, ie. Cheese on a bun,
  a cow with shoes on etc.)
• Method of Loci imagining a list of items in a
  location you are familiar with and the events
  that are taking place
• Image-Name Technique invent a relationship
  between the name of something and one of its
  physical traits (i.e. curly-haired Shirley
  Temple)
• Chaining creating a story where each word or
  idea you have to remember cues the next idea you
  have to recall i.e. a story where a character
  in a Shakespeare play bumps into four other
  characters as he goes for a walk

14
The Problem with Concentration

• At times when you may be trying to study for
  exams
• Your mind may wander from one thing to another
• Your worries may distract you
• Outside distractions may take you away from your
  studies before you know it
• You may find the material boring, difficult,
  and/or not interesting

15
Concentration Strategies

• Here are some strategies students can use to
  focus during study time
• Study in a set place that is naturally free of
  distractions
• When your mind wanders, tell yourself, now is
  when I must study
• Stick to a routine, realistic, and effective
  study schedule
• Focus on your goals with the material you are
  studying, each and every time

16
Concentration Strategies continued

• Change your study topics every 1-2 hours to keep
  things interesting
• Vary your study activities dont try and study
  in the same way for more than an hour or so
• Take regular scheduled breaks and enjoy them!
• Give yourself rewards for even small achievements
  with your studying

17
Student Study Strategies that DONT work

• Reading information out loud without writing it
  down
• Glossing over notes without proving you know it
  (by teaching someone else, by writing it down
  from memory etc.)
• Highlighting texts or novels
• Reviewing the material only one time
• Studying with someone else unless you are
  equally committed and focused
• Staying up really late or pulling an all-nighter

18
Types of Exams The Objective Exam

• Here are some helpful tips when writing an
  objective exam
• Survey the entire exam first to see what kinds of
  questions are being asked, length etc.
• Quickly budget for how much time youll spend on
  each question
• Read over each question carefully
• Answer easy questions first to save time and
  build confidence
• Pick out key words in the questions to ensure you
  dont misunderstand

19
The Objective Examcontinued

• Circle any questions you have difficulty with so
  you can go back to them at the end of the exam
• For multiple choice, read each option separately
  and determine whether each statement is true or
  false GUESS IF YOU DONT KNOW!
• Leave yourself at least 15 minutes at the end of
  the exam to review your answers and ensure you
  didnt make any silly mistakes

20
Types of Exams The Essay Exam

• Here are some helpful tips when writing an essay
  exam
• Do any initial preparation the teacher allows for
  (i.e. novel review, outlining different topics)
• Read over the entire exam first
• Quickly budget for the amount of time youll be
  able to spend on each question
• Number questions exactly to match the question
  numbers
• Outline your answer to the question before you
  begin writing

21
The Essay Examcontinued

• Pay attention to key words that indicate what you
  are being asked to do
• Start with an intro and end with a conclusion for
  each question
• Answer questions directly dont beat around the
  bush
• Leave time at the end to check for spelling
  mistakes, grammar mistakes, clarity of ideas etc.

22
Coping with Exam Anxiety

• Exam anxiety can be viewed in two different ways
• Poor coping with the inevitable stress of an exam
  BEFORE it takes place
• OR
• A strong emotional reaction of fear that
  interferes with thinking clearly DURING the exam

23
Exam Anxiety Symptoms

• Students who have exam anxiety often report the
  following symptoms
• Memory blocks or blanking out on things that
  you have studied
• Fear of failing before the exam is even written
• Physical symptoms such as rapid heart rate,
  shortness of breath, sweating etc.
• Lower reading comprehension
• Poor attention and inability to concentrate
• The key to dealing effectively with exam anxiety
  is to work on what you have control over (how you
  study, what you study etc.) and not worry about
  what you cant control (kinds of questions, how
  other students perform etc.)

24
Tips for Coping with Exam Anxiety

• Be Prepared Early
• Set up a study schedule at least 2 weeks before
  your exam
• Sleep Well
• Maintaining a regular sleep schedule helps reduce
  stress and increase performance
• Keep the same caffeine and sugar intake
• Greatly increasing either of these substances can
  actually impair brain functioning by throwing off
  your bodys metabolism
• Learn relaxed breathing
• When you get stressed, taking some slow, relaxed
  breaths can help you think clearly again

25
Tips for Coping with Exam Anxiety continued

• Stop studying at least 1-2 hours before bedtime
  the night before
• Studying right up until the last minute increases
  your anxiety and will impair your ability to
  sleep
• Review main themes
• Go over main ideas or concepts in the material to
  reinforce that you do understand the big
  picture
• Have a plan before the exam
• As part of your studying, think about how you
  will approach the exam and what you will do when
  you run into trouble
• Aim to do your best
• Recognize and turn off your negative
  self-dialogue focus on the task at hand and
  simply aim to do your best.

26
The Day of The Exam

• Wake up at a reasonable time so you can get ready
  at a leisurely pace and have breakfast
• Carry your notebook to the exam but dont open it
  will have it there if you absolutely need it
• Stay away from other stressed-out students who
  may get you worried before the exam
• Admit to yourself that you will not know all of
  the answers on the examand thats okay!
• Try the memory dump strategy
• Write down everything you can think of on a piece
  of scrap paper after the exam has begunand then
  start writing the exam

27
In Summary

• Studying is an important component of being
  prepared for your final exams
• Any sort of studying is inherently stressful, but
  there are ways to manage it to reduce the stress
• Your approach to studying will vary depending on
  the subject matter youre studying (see
  subject-specific suggestions in your package)
• The keys to effective studying are all about
  planning its a good idea to start that process
  NOW!
• Good luck on your final exams!